45 a temptation which perennially besets every spiritual journey and pastoral work: that of thinking that the results depend on our ability to act and to plan. God of course asks us really to cooperate with his grace, and therefore invites us to invest all our resources of intelligence and energy in serving the cause of the Kingdom. But it is fatal to forget that ‘without Christ we can do nothing’ (cf. Jn 15:5). It is prayer which roots us in this truth. It constantly reminds us of the primacy of Christ and, in union with him, the primacy of the interior life and of holiness.”30 Consequently, the primacy of spirituality understood as living by the Holy Spirit and growing in the Holy Spirit strives, on the one hand, to deepen one’s intimacy with Christ and to share in His mission, and on the other hand—to imitate Him, that is to recreate Christ’s way of life in oneself in all of its aspects. This can be realized thanks to the Holy Spirit who acts in the community of the Church and in the hearts of the people who are obedient to the Spirit. “It is the Spirit who allows us to recognize the Lord in Jesus of Nazareth (cf. 1 Cor 12:3) who makes us hear the call to follow him and who unifi es us in him. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ, does not belong to Christ (cf. Rom 8:9). It is the Spirit who, making us sons and daughters in the Son, gives witness to the paternity of God, makes us aware of our status as sons and daughters and gives us the courage to dare to call him “Abba, Father” (Rom 8:15). It is the Spirit who instills love and gives birth to communion. (…) It is such an interior newness, entirely animated by the strength of the Spirit and reaching out to the Father, seeking the Kingdom, which will allow consecrated persons to start afresh from Christ and be witnesses of his love.”31 Therefore, the call of the recent documents of the Church to give primacy to the spiritual life is above all a reminder of the origins of the spirituality contained in the very essence of the religious vocation. It is an appeal to give priority to following the path of becoming like Christ, which would then become a life in the Holy Spirit and according to the Spirit for the glory and love of the Father. Intriguing questions arise which are still unanswered: how did our Blessed Founder regard this primacy? How (if ever) was this matter treated by our tradition? How did our Renovator, Blessed George Matulewicz and our current Constitutions treat this matter? And fi nally, we must ask ourselves: which are the proper Marian means to implement this primacy or what is it that impedes us from living in the manner which is described above? 30 NMI, 38. 31 RdC, 20.
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